Best mainstream privates for kids with mild learning support needs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s impossible to say without you describing her needs in more detail. I can’t tell if you’re just a hyper-protective mom for whom being clumsy is a “delay,” or if your child actually has delays. Speech, fine, and gross motor delays all together actually sounds like they could be fairly significant needs and you’d be better off in public with an IEP.

OP here:

Fair question. This is definitely not just me being a hyper-protective mom, though I'd say it's hard to assess long-term need because DD has made significant progress in the past couple years. She started therapy through DC"s early intervention program at age 1 after hypotonia diagnosis. She didn't walk until 22 months. Delayed expressive but not receptive language. Diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 3. Through speech, OT, and PT, she has made great progress over past couple years, and the growth hormone injections have helped with her strength, too. She qualifies for an IEP through DCPS but we've sent her to a private pre-school that provides small classes and hands-on attention, which she's thrived in.

She is now 4, so we are looking at Kindergarten programs. I find it hard to judge the significance of her future needs because of her positive trajectory. I don't think this is just me looking through rose-colored glasses or wishing for an alternate reality but I don't want to be naive and suggest she definitely won't need any real supports, either.

Developmental pediatrician has suggested she could do ok in mainstream private school, with private therapy in place as needed.

Thanks for your input.

Thank you for the further information! Based on what you wrote, I really do think you should at least consider a DCPS with a strong IEP for K. Here's why: in addition to the OT, speech, and push-in you would hopefully get in your IEP, many/most DCPS schools have a very strong K curriculum that is really focused on teaching writing and reading fundamentals. They do a LOT of practice laying the groundwork to form letters, phonics, etc, for all kids. They have very clear goals for ELA. What this meant for my DS with severe fine motor skills (fine motor skills of a 14 month old baby at 4 years old, per the assessment - I didn't actually believe that, but it was bad!) is that in addition to the focused support, he got a TON of practice in methods that are designed to teach young kids from all backgrounds how to read and write. It really worked for him.

In contrast, from what I know about privates and some charters, K and 1st are much less focused and still revolved around being play based, etc, and they take more of the attitude of "oh, our kids will learn to read and write, we don't have to worry about it!" Which, fine, may work for some kids. But would not have worked for my kid, and likely not your kid either.

Another hint - we ended up getting a strong IEP for K from the DCPS Central private school section because we were entering our IB K from a private preschool. It seems much easier to deal with them then to have to go through the school. So you're in a good position to do that as well.

Our first IEP was 2.5 hours of push-in per week, plus 60 mins of OT per week. The special ed teacher often pushed in during writing instruction. What this amounted do was an average of 45 mins/day spent with 1:1 help on his writing. What was really great though was that the whole team also supported him developing his writing skills, so for example the art teacher would encourage him and not let him just do nothing, etc. DCPS also has an aid assigned to each K class, and the aid would give him some additional encouragement. (My DS's issue was that writing was hard, so he would just opt to do nothing unless someone encouraged him to get started.)

It's possible you could find the same level of support at a private, but I really think the combination of support PLUS curriculum was what got our DS off to a really great start. He has now aged out of his IEP (3rd grade) and we are letting it lapse for now.

The problem is this is in no way typical unless you have a child really in need. You really lucked up!

NP- it's not luck, it's based on evaluations done in school that are not available to private school students. The PP clearly described that their student qualified and then listed the services provided per the IEP, which is a process triggered by school administered test results. If your DC does not meet the evaluative criteria, then no services. It's that simple. No luck involved in public. Private on the other hand can do whatever they want.

Public schools are still required to provide services to kids in private school but parents may need to drive them back and forth or parents can do private services. Our IEP was a joke for services and we had to still do everything privately when we transferred to public. 30 minute of group speech with 6 kids with unrelated needs is pretty worthless.

Play based didn't work for our child either. We needed something with more structure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s impossible to say without you describing her needs in more detail. I can’t tell if you’re just a hyper-protective mom for whom being clumsy is a “delay,” or if your child actually has delays. Speech, fine, and gross motor delays all together actually sounds like they could be fairly significant needs and you’d be better off in public with an IEP.

OP here:

Fair question. This is definitely not just me being a hyper-protective mom, though I'd say it's hard to assess long-term need because DD has made significant progress in the past couple years. She started therapy through DC"s early intervention program at age 1 after hypotonia diagnosis. She didn't walk until 22 months. Delayed expressive but not receptive language. Diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 3. Through speech, OT, and PT, she has made great progress over past couple years, and the growth hormone injections have helped with her strength, too. She qualifies for an IEP through DCPS but we've sent her to a private pre-school that provides small classes and hands-on attention, which she's thrived in.

She is now 4, so we are looking at Kindergarten programs. I find it hard to judge the significance of her future needs because of her positive trajectory. I don't think this is just me looking through rose-colored glasses or wishing for an alternate reality but I don't want to be naive and suggest she definitely won't need any real supports, either.

Developmental pediatrician has suggested she could do ok in mainstream private school, with private therapy in place as needed.

Thanks for your input.

Thank you for the further information! Based on what you wrote, I really do think you should at least consider a DCPS with a strong IEP for K. Here's why: in addition to the OT, speech, and push-in you would hopefully get in your IEP, many/most DCPS schools have a very strong K curriculum that is really focused on teaching writing and reading fundamentals. They do a LOT of practice laying the groundwork to form letters, phonics, etc, for all kids. They have very clear goals for ELA. What this meant for my DS with severe fine motor skills (fine motor skills of a 14 month old baby at 4 years old, per the assessment - I didn't actually believe that, but it was bad!) is that in addition to the focused support, he got a TON of practice in methods that are designed to teach young kids from all backgrounds how to read and write. It really worked for him.

In contrast, from what I know about privates and some charters, K and 1st are much less focused and still revolved around being play based, etc, and they take more of the attitude of "oh, our kids will learn to read and write, we don't have to worry about it!" Which, fine, may work for some kids. But would not have worked for my kid, and likely not your kid either.

Another hint - we ended up getting a strong IEP for K from the DCPS Central private school section because we were entering our IB K from a private preschool. It seems much easier to deal with them then to have to go through the school. So you're in a good position to do that as well.

Our first IEP was 2.5 hours of push-in per week, plus 60 mins of OT per week. The special ed teacher often pushed in during writing instruction. What this amounted do was an average of 45 mins/day spent with 1:1 help on his writing. What was really great though was that the whole team also supported him developing his writing skills, so for example the art teacher would encourage him and not let him just do nothing, etc. DCPS also has an aid assigned to each K class, and the aid would give him some additional encouragement. (My DS's issue was that writing was hard, so he would just opt to do nothing unless someone encouraged him to get started.)

It's possible you could find the same level of support at a private, but I really think the combination of support PLUS curriculum was what got our DS off to a really great start. He has now aged out of his IEP (3rd grade) and we are letting it lapse for now.

The problem is this is in no way typical unless you have a child really in need. You really lucked up!

The DCPS central office does a good job with services. And the other main point is that the DCPS curriculum itself will be therepeutic, in my opinion. I don't think that privates (other than maybe a SN private) would do better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s impossible to say without you describing her needs in more detail. I can’t tell if you’re just a hyper-protective mom for whom being clumsy is a “delay,” or if your child actually has delays. Speech, fine, and gross motor delays all together actually sounds like they could be fairly significant needs and you’d be better off in public with an IEP.

OP here:

Fair question. This is definitely not just me being a hyper-protective mom, though I'd say it's hard to assess long-term need because DD has made significant progress in the past couple years. She started therapy through DC"s early intervention program at age 1 after hypotonia diagnosis. She didn't walk until 22 months. Delayed expressive but not receptive language. Diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 3. Through speech, OT, and PT, she has made great progress over past couple years, and the growth hormone injections have helped with her strength, too. She qualifies for an IEP through DCPS but we've sent her to a private pre-school that provides small classes and hands-on attention, which she's thrived in.

She is now 4, so we are looking at Kindergarten programs. I find it hard to judge the significance of her future needs because of her positive trajectory. I don't think this is just me looking through rose-colored glasses or wishing for an alternate reality but I don't want to be naive and suggest she definitely won't need any real supports, either.

Developmental pediatrician has suggested she could do ok in mainstream private school, with private therapy in place as needed.

Thanks for your input.

Thank you for the further information! Based on what you wrote, I really do think you should at least consider a DCPS with a strong IEP for K. Here's why: in addition to the OT, speech, and push-in you would hopefully get in your IEP, many/most DCPS schools have a very strong K curriculum that is really focused on teaching writing and reading fundamentals. They do a LOT of practice laying the groundwork to form letters, phonics, etc, for all kids. They have very clear goals for ELA. What this meant for my DS with severe fine motor skills (fine motor skills of a 14 month old baby at 4 years old, per the assessment - I didn't actually believe that, but it was bad!) is that in addition to the focused support, he got a TON of practice in methods that are designed to teach young kids from all backgrounds how to read and write. It really worked for him.

In contrast, from what I know about privates and some charters, K and 1st are much less focused and still revolved around being play based, etc, and they take more of the attitude of "oh, our kids will learn to read and write, we don't have to worry about it!" Which, fine, may work for some kids. But would not have worked for my kid, and likely not your kid either.

Another hint - we ended up getting a strong IEP for K from the DCPS Central private school section because we were entering our IB K from a private preschool. It seems much easier to deal with them then to have to go through the school. So you're in a good position to do that as well.

Our first IEP was 2.5 hours of push-in per week, plus 60 mins of OT per week. The special ed teacher often pushed in during writing instruction. What this amounted do was an average of 45 mins/day spent with 1:1 help on his writing. What was really great though was that the whole team also supported him developing his writing skills, so for example the art teacher would encourage him and not let him just do nothing, etc. DCPS also has an aid assigned to each K class, and the aid would give him some additional encouragement. (My DS's issue was that writing was hard, so he would just opt to do nothing unless someone encouraged him to get started.)

It's possible you could find the same level of support at a private, but I really think the combination of support PLUS curriculum was what got our DS off to a really great start. He has now aged out of his IEP (3rd grade) and we are letting it lapse for now.

The problem is this is in no way typical unless you have a child really in need. You really lucked up!

NP- it's not luck, it's based on evaluations done in school that are not available to private school students. The PP clearly described that their student qualified and then listed the services provided per the IEP, which is a process triggered by school administered test results. If your DC does not meet the evaluative criteria, then no services. It's that simple. No luck involved in public. Private on the other hand can do whatever they want.

PP here who posted about my DCPS IEP. OP's other ace in the hole for IEPs is the need for speech (assuming that the degree of speech impairment meets whatever the developmental delay definition is now) means that it's easier to qualify for the IEP than if she just needed OT. A weird quirk in the definitions. Anyway, OP can go through the process and see what the IEP ends up being.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s impossible to say without you describing her needs in more detail. I can’t tell if you’re just a hyper-protective mom for whom being clumsy is a “delay,” or if your child actually has delays. Speech, fine, and gross motor delays all together actually sounds like they could be fairly significant needs and you’d be better off in public with an IEP.

OP here:

Fair question. This is definitely not just me being a hyper-protective mom, though I'd say it's hard to assess long-term need because DD has made significant progress in the past couple years. She started therapy through DC"s early intervention program at age 1 after hypotonia diagnosis. She didn't walk until 22 months. Delayed expressive but not receptive language. Diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 3. Through speech, OT, and PT, she has made great progress over past couple years, and the growth hormone injections have helped with her strength, too. She qualifies for an IEP through DCPS but we've sent her to a private pre-school that provides small classes and hands-on attention, which she's thrived in.

She is now 4, so we are looking at Kindergarten programs. I find it hard to judge the significance of her future needs because of her positive trajectory. I don't think this is just me looking through rose-colored glasses or wishing for an alternate reality but I don't want to be naive and suggest she definitely won't need any real supports, either.

Developmental pediatrician has suggested she could do ok in mainstream private school, with private therapy in place as needed.

Thanks for your input.

Thank you for the further information! Based on what you wrote, I really do think you should at least consider a DCPS with a strong IEP for K. Here's why: in addition to the OT, speech, and push-in you would hopefully get in your IEP, many/most DCPS schools have a very strong K curriculum that is really focused on teaching writing and reading fundamentals. They do a LOT of practice laying the groundwork to form letters, phonics, etc, for all kids. They have very clear goals for ELA. What this meant for my DS with severe fine motor skills (fine motor skills of a 14 month old baby at 4 years old, per the assessment - I didn't actually believe that, but it was bad!) is that in addition to the focused support, he got a TON of practice in methods that are designed to teach young kids from all backgrounds how to read and write. It really worked for him.

In contrast, from what I know about privates and some charters, K and 1st are much less focused and still revolved around being play based, etc, and they take more of the attitude of "oh, our kids will learn to read and write, we don't have to worry about it!" Which, fine, may work for some kids. But would not have worked for my kid, and likely not your kid either.

Another hint - we ended up getting a strong IEP for K from the DCPS Central private school section because we were entering our IB K from a private preschool. It seems much easier to deal with them then to have to go through the school. So you're in a good position to do that as well.

Our first IEP was 2.5 hours of push-in per week, plus 60 mins of OT per week. The special ed teacher often pushed in during writing instruction. What this amounted do was an average of 45 mins/day spent with 1:1 help on his writing. What was really great though was that the whole team also supported him developing his writing skills, so for example the art teacher would encourage him and not let him just do nothing, etc. DCPS also has an aid assigned to each K class, and the aid would give him some additional encouragement. (My DS's issue was that writing was hard, so he would just opt to do nothing unless someone encouraged him to get started.)

It's possible you could find the same level of support at a private, but I really think the combination of support PLUS curriculum was what got our DS off to a really great start. He has now aged out of his IEP (3rd grade) and we are letting it lapse for now.

The problem is this is in no way typical unless you have a child really in need. You really lucked up!

NP- it's not luck, it's based on evaluations done in school that are not available to private school students. The PP clearly described that their student qualified and then listed the services provided per the IEP, which is a process triggered by school administered test results. If your DC does not meet the evaluative criteria, then no services. It's that simple. No luck involved in public. Private on the other hand can do whatever they want.

Public schools are still required to provide services to kids in private school but parents may need to drive them back and forth or parents can do private services. Our IEP was a joke for services and we had to still do everything privately when we transferred to public. 30 minute of group speech with 6 kids with unrelated needs is pretty worthless.

Play based didn't work for our child either. We needed something with more structure.

One framing that helped me when my child was in K and 1st was that the goal for school and services was to learn to read and write. So I was OK with services being imperfect as long as the learning was happening. Eg we still needed OT and behavioral therapies privately, but the push-in and OT in school and general structure were accomplishing what was supposed to be accomplished in K (reading and writing foundations).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s impossible to say without you describing her needs in more detail. I can’t tell if you’re just a hyper-protective mom for whom being clumsy is a “delay,” or if your child actually has delays. Speech, fine, and gross motor delays all together actually sounds like they could be fairly significant needs and you’d be better off in public with an IEP.

OP here:

Fair question. This is definitely not just me being a hyper-protective mom, though I'd say it's hard to assess long-term need because DD has made significant progress in the past couple years. She started therapy through DC"s early intervention program at age 1 after hypotonia diagnosis. She didn't walk until 22 months. Delayed expressive but not receptive language. Diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 3. Through speech, OT, and PT, she has made great progress over past couple years, and the growth hormone injections have helped with her strength, too. She qualifies for an IEP through DCPS but we've sent her to a private pre-school that provides small classes and hands-on attention, which she's thrived in.

She is now 4, so we are looking at Kindergarten programs. I find it hard to judge the significance of her future needs because of her positive trajectory. I don't think this is just me looking through rose-colored glasses or wishing for an alternate reality but I don't want to be naive and suggest she definitely won't need any real supports, either.

Developmental pediatrician has suggested she could do ok in mainstream private school, with private therapy in place as needed.

Thanks for your input.

Thank you for the further information! Based on what you wrote, I really do think you should at least consider a DCPS with a strong IEP for K. Here's why: in addition to the OT, speech, and push-in you would hopefully get in your IEP, many/most DCPS schools have a very strong K curriculum that is really focused on teaching writing and reading fundamentals. They do a LOT of practice laying the groundwork to form letters, phonics, etc, for all kids. They have very clear goals for ELA. What this meant for my DS with severe fine motor skills (fine motor skills of a 14 month old baby at 4 years old, per the assessment - I didn't actually believe that, but it was bad!) is that in addition to the focused support, he got a TON of practice in methods that are designed to teach young kids from all backgrounds how to read and write. It really worked for him.

In contrast, from what I know about privates and some charters, K and 1st are much less focused and still revolved around being play based, etc, and they take more of the attitude of "oh, our kids will learn to read and write, we don't have to worry about it!" Which, fine, may work for some kids. But would not have worked for my kid, and likely not your kid either.

Another hint - we ended up getting a strong IEP for K from the DCPS Central private school section because we were entering our IB K from a private preschool. It seems much easier to deal with them then to have to go through the school. So you're in a good position to do that as well.

Our first IEP was 2.5 hours of push-in per week, plus 60 mins of OT per week. The special ed teacher often pushed in during writing instruction. What this amounted do was an average of 45 mins/day spent with 1:1 help on his writing. What was really great though was that the whole team also supported him developing his writing skills, so for example the art teacher would encourage him and not let him just do nothing, etc. DCPS also has an aid assigned to each K class, and the aid would give him some additional encouragement. (My DS's issue was that writing was hard, so he would just opt to do nothing unless someone encouraged him to get started.)

It's possible you could find the same level of support at a private, but I really think the combination of support PLUS curriculum was what got our DS off to a really great start. He has now aged out of his IEP (3rd grade) and we are letting it lapse for now.

The problem is this is in no way typical unless you have a child really in need. You really lucked up!

NP- it's not luck, it's based on evaluations done in school that are not available to private school students. The PP clearly described that their student qualified and then listed the services provided per the IEP, which is a process triggered by school administered test results. If your DC does not meet the evaluative criteria, then no services. It's that simple. No luck involved in public. Private on the other hand can do whatever they want.

I’ve heard more horror stories coming out of public schools with parents fighting to get their kids evaluated, fighting for services, etc. it shouldn’t be that way but sometimes it is, regardless of merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s impossible to say without you describing her needs in more detail. I can’t tell if you’re just a hyper-protective mom for whom being clumsy is a “delay,” or if your child actually has delays. Speech, fine, and gross motor delays all together actually sounds like they could be fairly significant needs and you’d be better off in public with an IEP.

OP here:

Fair question. This is definitely not just me being a hyper-protective mom, though I'd say it's hard to assess long-term need because DD has made significant progress in the past couple years. She started therapy through DC"s early intervention program at age 1 after hypotonia diagnosis. She didn't walk until 22 months. Delayed expressive but not receptive language. Diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 3. Through speech, OT, and PT, she has made great progress over past couple years, and the growth hormone injections have helped with her strength, too. She qualifies for an IEP through DCPS but we've sent her to a private pre-school that provides small classes and hands-on attention, which she's thrived in.

She is now 4, so we are looking at Kindergarten programs. I find it hard to judge the significance of her future needs because of her positive trajectory. I don't think this is just me looking through rose-colored glasses or wishing for an alternate reality but I don't want to be naive and suggest she definitely won't need any real supports, either.

Developmental pediatrician has suggested she could do ok in mainstream private school, with private therapy in place as needed.

Thanks for your input.

Thank you for the further information! Based on what you wrote, I really do think you should at least consider a DCPS with a strong IEP for K. Here's why: in addition to the OT, speech, and push-in you would hopefully get in your IEP, many/most DCPS schools have a very strong K curriculum that is really focused on teaching writing and reading fundamentals. They do a LOT of practice laying the groundwork to form letters, phonics, etc, for all kids. They have very clear goals for ELA. What this meant for my DS with severe fine motor skills (fine motor skills of a 14 month old baby at 4 years old, per the assessment - I didn't actually believe that, but it was bad!) is that in addition to the focused support, he got a TON of practice in methods that are designed to teach young kids from all backgrounds how to read and write. It really worked for him.

In contrast, from what I know about privates and some charters, K and 1st are much less focused and still revolved around being play based, etc, and they take more of the attitude of "oh, our kids will learn to read and write, we don't have to worry about it!" Which, fine, may work for some kids. But would not have worked for my kid, and likely not your kid either.

Another hint - we ended up getting a strong IEP for K from the DCPS Central private school section because we were entering our IB K from a private preschool. It seems much easier to deal with them then to have to go through the school. So you're in a good position to do that as well.

Our first IEP was 2.5 hours of push-in per week, plus 60 mins of OT per week. The special ed teacher often pushed in during writing instruction. What this amounted do was an average of 45 mins/day spent with 1:1 help on his writing. What was really great though was that the whole team also supported him developing his writing skills, so for example the art teacher would encourage him and not let him just do nothing, etc. DCPS also has an aid assigned to each K class, and the aid would give him some additional encouragement. (My DS's issue was that writing was hard, so he would just opt to do nothing unless someone encouraged him to get started.)

It's possible you could find the same level of support at a private, but I really think the combination of support PLUS curriculum was what got our DS off to a really great start. He has now aged out of his IEP (3rd grade) and we are letting it lapse for now.

The problem is this is in no way typical unless you have a child really in need. You really lucked up!

NP- it's not luck, it's based on evaluations done in school that are not available to private school students. The PP clearly described that their student qualified and then listed the services provided per the IEP, which is a process triggered by school administered test results. If your DC does not meet the evaluative criteria, then no services. It's that simple. No luck involved in public. Private on the other hand can do whatever they want.

Oh it’s definitely luck. I’m a DCPS teacher. There are plenty of kids who need lore than the 15 minutes services they get. Please don’t confuse entitlement to what really goes on. They are required to give you services; not the max. The other poster is correct. 60 minutes of OT and 2.5 hours of push on services is NOT typical!

[Anonymous]

I didn't read through all the responses, but I don't agree with those who are discouraging you from applying to private schools. Our child has mild hypotonia. It sound like it is more mild than your child's since ours is not not in therapy but does swimming and martial arts--recommended by a developmental pediatrician. We applied to GDS, Lowell, Maret, NPS, and WIS and our child got into all but one, and I don't think it had anything to do with our child's hypotonia. Our child is still young but is doing great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s impossible to say without you describing her needs in more detail. I can’t tell if you’re just a hyper-protective mom for whom being clumsy is a “delay,” or if your child actually has delays. Speech, fine, and gross motor delays all together actually sounds like they could be fairly significant needs and you’d be better off in public with an IEP.

OP here:

Fair question. This is definitely not just me being a hyper-protective mom, though I'd say it's hard to assess long-term need because DD has made significant progress in the past couple years. She started therapy through DC"s early intervention program at age 1 after hypotonia diagnosis. She didn't walk until 22 months. Delayed expressive but not receptive language. Diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 3. Through speech, OT, and PT, she has made great progress over past couple years, and the growth hormone injections have helped with her strength, too. She qualifies for an IEP through DCPS but we've sent her to a private pre-school that provides small classes and hands-on attention, which she's thrived in.

She is now 4, so we are looking at Kindergarten programs. I find it hard to judge the significance of her future needs because of her positive trajectory. I don't think this is just me looking through rose-colored glasses or wishing for an alternate reality but I don't want to be naive and suggest she definitely won't need any real supports, either.

Developmental pediatrician has suggested she could do ok in mainstream private school, with private therapy in place as needed.

Thanks for your input.

Thank you for the further information! Based on what you wrote, I really do think you should at least consider a DCPS with a strong IEP for K. Here's why: in addition to the OT, speech, and push-in you would hopefully get in your IEP, many/most DCPS schools have a very strong K curriculum that is really focused on teaching writing and reading fundamentals. They do a LOT of practice laying the groundwork to form letters, phonics, etc, for all kids. They have very clear goals for ELA. What this meant for my DS with severe fine motor skills (fine motor skills of a 14 month old baby at 4 years old, per the assessment - I didn't actually believe that, but it was bad!) is that in addition to the focused support, he got a TON of practice in methods that are designed to teach young kids from all backgrounds how to read and write. It really worked for him.

In contrast, from what I know about privates and some charters, K and 1st are much less focused and still revolved around being play based, etc, and they take more of the attitude of "oh, our kids will learn to read and write, we don't have to worry about it!" Which, fine, may work for some kids. But would not have worked for my kid, and likely not your kid either.

Another hint - we ended up getting a strong IEP for K from the DCPS Central private school section because we were entering our IB K from a private preschool. It seems much easier to deal with them then to have to go through the school. So you're in a good position to do that as well.

Our first IEP was 2.5 hours of push-in per week, plus 60 mins of OT per week. The special ed teacher often pushed in during writing instruction. What this amounted do was an average of 45 mins/day spent with 1:1 help on his writing. What was really great though was that the whole team also supported him developing his writing skills, so for example the art teacher would encourage him and not let him just do nothing, etc. DCPS also has an aid assigned to each K class, and the aid would give him some additional encouragement. (My DS's issue was that writing was hard, so he would just opt to do nothing unless someone encouraged him to get started.)

It's possible you could find the same level of support at a private, but I really think the combination of support PLUS curriculum was what got our DS off to a really great start. He has now aged out of his IEP (3rd grade) and we are letting it lapse for now.

The problem is this is in no way typical unless you have a child really in need. You really lucked up!

NP- it's not luck, it's based on evaluations done in school that are not available to private school students. The PP clearly described that their student qualified and then listed the services provided per the IEP, which is a process triggered by school administered test results. If your DC does not meet the evaluative criteria, then no services. It's that simple. No luck involved in public. Private on the other hand can do whatever they want.

I’ve heard more horror stories coming out of public schools with parents fighting to get their kids evaluated, fighting for services, etc. it shouldn’t be that way but sometimes it is, regardless of merit.

And why would it be any better in a "mainstream private" where they openly discriminate against kids with disabilities? Yes, you do have to be a strong advocate for your kid, but OP already knows that. That's why she's here asking these questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s impossible to say without you describing her needs in more detail. I can’t tell if you’re just a hyper-protective mom for whom being clumsy is a “delay,” or if your child actually has delays. Speech, fine, and gross motor delays all together actually sounds like they could be fairly significant needs and you’d be better off in public with an IEP.

OP here:

Fair question. This is definitely not just me being a hyper-protective mom, though I'd say it's hard to assess long-term need because DD has made significant progress in the past couple years. She started therapy through DC"s early intervention program at age 1 after hypotonia diagnosis. She didn't walk until 22 months. Delayed expressive but not receptive language. Diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 3. Through speech, OT, and PT, she has made great progress over past couple years, and the growth hormone injections have helped with her strength, too. She qualifies for an IEP through DCPS but we've sent her to a private pre-school that provides small classes and hands-on attention, which she's thrived in.

She is now 4, so we are looking at Kindergarten programs. I find it hard to judge the significance of her future needs because of her positive trajectory. I don't think this is just me looking through rose-colored glasses or wishing for an alternate reality but I don't want to be naive and suggest she definitely won't need any real supports, either.

Developmental pediatrician has suggested she could do ok in mainstream private school, with private therapy in place as needed.

Thanks for your input.

Thank you for the further information! Based on what you wrote, I really do think you should at least consider a DCPS with a strong IEP for K. Here's why: in addition to the OT, speech, and push-in you would hopefully get in your IEP, many/most DCPS schools have a very strong K curriculum that is really focused on teaching writing and reading fundamentals. They do a LOT of practice laying the groundwork to form letters, phonics, etc, for all kids. They have very clear goals for ELA. What this meant for my DS with severe fine motor skills (fine motor skills of a 14 month old baby at 4 years old, per the assessment - I didn't actually believe that, but it was bad!) is that in addition to the focused support, he got a TON of practice in methods that are designed to teach young kids from all backgrounds how to read and write. It really worked for him.

In contrast, from what I know about privates and some charters, K and 1st are much less focused and still revolved around being play based, etc, and they take more of the attitude of "oh, our kids will learn to read and write, we don't have to worry about it!" Which, fine, may work for some kids. But would not have worked for my kid, and likely not your kid either.

Another hint - we ended up getting a strong IEP for K from the DCPS Central private school section because we were entering our IB K from a private preschool. It seems much easier to deal with them then to have to go through the school. So you're in a good position to do that as well.

Our first IEP was 2.5 hours of push-in per week, plus 60 mins of OT per week. The special ed teacher often pushed in during writing instruction. What this amounted do was an average of 45 mins/day spent with 1:1 help on his writing. What was really great though was that the whole team also supported him developing his writing skills, so for example the art teacher would encourage him and not let him just do nothing, etc. DCPS also has an aid assigned to each K class, and the aid would give him some additional encouragement. (My DS's issue was that writing was hard, so he would just opt to do nothing unless someone encouraged him to get started.)

It's possible you could find the same level of support at a private, but I really think the combination of support PLUS curriculum was what got our DS off to a really great start. He has now aged out of his IEP (3rd grade) and we are letting it lapse for now.

The problem is this is in no way typical unless you have a child really in need. You really lucked up!

NP- it's not luck, it's based on evaluations done in school that are not available to private school students. The PP clearly described that their student qualified and then listed the services provided per the IEP, which is a process triggered by school administered test results. If your DC does not meet the evaluative criteria, then no services. It's that simple. No luck involved in public. Private on the other hand can do whatever they want.

Oh it’s definitely luck. I’m a DCPS teacher. There are plenty of kids who need lore than the 15 minutes services they get. Please don’t confuse entitlement to what really goes on. They are required to give you services; not the max. The other poster is correct. 60 minutes of OT and 2.5 hours of push on services is NOT typical!

Again, we got this by going through DCPS central. That's what OP is in the position to do. And she can fight for more as well. And there's no indication that a private will be better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't read through all the responses, but I don't agree with those who are discouraging you from applying to private schools. Our child has mild hypotonia. It sound like it is more mild than your child's since ours is not not in therapy but does swimming and martial arts--recommended by a developmental pediatrician. We applied to GDS, Lowell, Maret, NPS, and WIS and our child got into all but one, and I don't think it had anything to do with our child's hypotonia. Our child is still young but is doing great.

By your account your kid doesn't have a disability at all, and probably not even a visible difference. If she never even had to have OT, then it's a totally different scenario than OP's child, who has an actual medical condition as well as a speech delay. Did you even disclose it to the schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s impossible to say without you describing her needs in more detail. I can’t tell if you’re just a hyper-protective mom for whom being clumsy is a “delay,” or if your child actually has delays. Speech, fine, and gross motor delays all together actually sounds like they could be fairly significant needs and you’d be better off in public with an IEP.

OP here:

Fair question. This is definitely not just me being a hyper-protective mom, though I'd say it's hard to assess long-term need because DD has made significant progress in the past couple years. She started therapy through DC"s early intervention program at age 1 after hypotonia diagnosis. She didn't walk until 22 months. Delayed expressive but not receptive language. Diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 3. Through speech, OT, and PT, she has made great progress over past couple years, and the growth hormone injections have helped with her strength, too. She qualifies for an IEP through DCPS but we've sent her to a private pre-school that provides small classes and hands-on attention, which she's thrived in.

She is now 4, so we are looking at Kindergarten programs. I find it hard to judge the significance of her future needs because of her positive trajectory. I don't think this is just me looking through rose-colored glasses or wishing for an alternate reality but I don't want to be naive and suggest she definitely won't need any real supports, either.

Developmental pediatrician has suggested she could do ok in mainstream private school, with private therapy in place as needed.

Thanks for your input.

Thank you for the further information! Based on what you wrote, I really do think you should at least consider a DCPS with a strong IEP for K. Here's why: in addition to the OT, speech, and push-in you would hopefully get in your IEP, many/most DCPS schools have a very strong K curriculum that is really focused on teaching writing and reading fundamentals. They do a LOT of practice laying the groundwork to form letters, phonics, etc, for all kids. They have very clear goals for ELA. What this meant for my DS with severe fine motor skills (fine motor skills of a 14 month old baby at 4 years old, per the assessment - I didn't actually believe that, but it was bad!) is that in addition to the focused support, he got a TON of practice in methods that are designed to teach young kids from all backgrounds how to read and write. It really worked for him.

In contrast, from what I know about privates and some charters, K and 1st are much less focused and still revolved around being play based, etc, and they take more of the attitude of "oh, our kids will learn to read and write, we don't have to worry about it!" Which, fine, may work for some kids. But would not have worked for my kid, and likely not your kid either.

Another hint - we ended up getting a strong IEP for K from the DCPS Central private school section because we were entering our IB K from a private preschool. It seems much easier to deal with them then to have to go through the school. So you're in a good position to do that as well.

Our first IEP was 2.5 hours of push-in per week, plus 60 mins of OT per week. The special ed teacher often pushed in during writing instruction. What this amounted do was an average of 45 mins/day spent with 1:1 help on his writing. What was really great though was that the whole team also supported him developing his writing skills, so for example the art teacher would encourage him and not let him just do nothing, etc. DCPS also has an aid assigned to each K class, and the aid would give him some additional encouragement. (My DS's issue was that writing was hard, so he would just opt to do nothing unless someone encouraged him to get started.)

It's possible you could find the same level of support at a private, but I really think the combination of support PLUS curriculum was what got our DS off to a really great start. He has now aged out of his IEP (3rd grade) and we are letting it lapse for now.

The problem is this is in no way typical unless you have a child really in need. You really lucked up!

NP- it's not luck, it's based on evaluations done in school that are not available to private school students. The PP clearly described that their student qualified and then listed the services provided per the IEP, which is a process triggered by school administered test results. If your DC does not meet the evaluative criteria, then no services. It's that simple. No luck involved in public. Private on the other hand can do whatever they want.

I’ve heard more horror stories coming out of public schools with parents fighting to get their kids evaluated, fighting for services, etc. it shouldn’t be that way but sometimes it is, regardless of merit.

And why would it be any better in a "mainstream private" where they openly discriminate against kids with disabilities? Yes, you do have to be a strong advocate for your kid, but OP already knows that. That's why she's here asking these questions.

Because privates wouldn't exist without smearing public schools. It's tough to be a private when you are surrounded by successful public schools in a changing educational marketplace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s impossible to say without you describing her needs in more detail. I can’t tell if you’re just a hyper-protective mom for whom being clumsy is a “delay,” or if your child actually has delays. Speech, fine, and gross motor delays all together actually sounds like they could be fairly significant needs and you’d be better off in public with an IEP.

OP here:

Fair question. This is definitely not just me being a hyper-protective mom, though I'd say it's hard to assess long-term need because DD has made significant progress in the past couple years. She started therapy through DC"s early intervention program at age 1 after hypotonia diagnosis. She didn't walk until 22 months. Delayed expressive but not receptive language. Diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 3. Through speech, OT, and PT, she has made great progress over past couple years, and the growth hormone injections have helped with her strength, too. She qualifies for an IEP through DCPS but we've sent her to a private pre-school that provides small classes and hands-on attention, which she's thrived in.

She is now 4, so we are looking at Kindergarten programs. I find it hard to judge the significance of her future needs because of her positive trajectory. I don't think this is just me looking through rose-colored glasses or wishing for an alternate reality but I don't want to be naive and suggest she definitely won't need any real supports, either.

Developmental pediatrician has suggested she could do ok in mainstream private school, with private therapy in place as needed.

Thanks for your input.

Thank you for the further information! Based on what you wrote, I really do think you should at least consider a DCPS with a strong IEP for K. Here's why: in addition to the OT, speech, and push-in you would hopefully get in your IEP, many/most DCPS schools have a very strong K curriculum that is really focused on teaching writing and reading fundamentals. They do a LOT of practice laying the groundwork to form letters, phonics, etc, for all kids. They have very clear goals for ELA. What this meant for my DS with severe fine motor skills (fine motor skills of a 14 month old baby at 4 years old, per the assessment - I didn't actually believe that, but it was bad!) is that in addition to the focused support, he got a TON of practice in methods that are designed to teach young kids from all backgrounds how to read and write. It really worked for him.

In contrast, from what I know about privates and some charters, K and 1st are much less focused and still revolved around being play based, etc, and they take more of the attitude of "oh, our kids will learn to read and write, we don't have to worry about it!" Which, fine, may work for some kids. But would not have worked for my kid, and likely not your kid either.

Another hint - we ended up getting a strong IEP for K from the DCPS Central private school section because we were entering our IB K from a private preschool. It seems much easier to deal with them then to have to go through the school. So you're in a good position to do that as well.

Our first IEP was 2.5 hours of push-in per week, plus 60 mins of OT per week. The special ed teacher often pushed in during writing instruction. What this amounted do was an average of 45 mins/day spent with 1:1 help on his writing. What was really great though was that the whole team also supported him developing his writing skills, so for example the art teacher would encourage him and not let him just do nothing, etc. DCPS also has an aid assigned to each K class, and the aid would give him some additional encouragement. (My DS's issue was that writing was hard, so he would just opt to do nothing unless someone encouraged him to get started.)

It's possible you could find the same level of support at a private, but I really think the combination of support PLUS curriculum was what got our DS off to a really great start. He has now aged out of his IEP (3rd grade) and we are letting it lapse for now.

The problem is this is in no way typical unless you have a child really in need. You really lucked up!

NP- it's not luck, it's based on evaluations done in school that are not available to private school students. The PP clearly described that their student qualified and then listed the services provided per the IEP, which is a process triggered by school administered test results. If your DC does not meet the evaluative criteria, then no services. It's that simple. No luck involved in public. Private on the other hand can do whatever they want.

Oh it’s definitely luck. I’m a DCPS teacher. There are plenty of kids who need lore than the 15 minutes services they get. Please don’t confuse entitlement to what really goes on. They are required to give you services; not the max. The other poster is correct. 60 minutes of OT and 2.5 hours of push on services is NOT typical!

Again, we got this by going through DCPS central. That's what OP is in the position to do. And she can fight for more as well. And there's no indication that a private will be better.

(and BTW - there are charters that regularly provide kids with as much if not more supports than my kid had, even with "just" level 1 IEPs. some will in fact assign aids much more readily than DCPS, although I'm not sure that OP's child would even need an aid. With what OP has described, I would be very surprised if the charters that are better with SN would not assign significant services. She should come over to the DCPS and SN board to find out more.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s impossible to say without you describing her needs in more detail. I can’t tell if you’re just a hyper-protective mom for whom being clumsy is a “delay,” or if your child actually has delays. Speech, fine, and gross motor delays all together actually sounds like they could be fairly significant needs and you’d be better off in public with an IEP.

OP here:

Fair question. This is definitely not just me being a hyper-protective mom, though I'd say it's hard to assess long-term need because DD has made significant progress in the past couple years. She started therapy through DC"s early intervention program at age 1 after hypotonia diagnosis. She didn't walk until 22 months. Delayed expressive but not receptive language. Diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 3. Through speech, OT, and PT, she has made great progress over past couple years, and the growth hormone injections have helped with her strength, too. She qualifies for an IEP through DCPS but we've sent her to a private pre-school that provides small classes and hands-on attention, which she's thrived in.

She is now 4, so we are looking at Kindergarten programs. I find it hard to judge the significance of her future needs because of her positive trajectory. I don't think this is just me looking through rose-colored glasses or wishing for an alternate reality but I don't want to be naive and suggest she definitely won't need any real supports, either.

Developmental pediatrician has suggested she could do ok in mainstream private school, with private therapy in place as needed.

Thanks for your input.

Thank you for the further information! Based on what you wrote, I really do think you should at least consider a DCPS with a strong IEP for K. Here's why: in addition to the OT, speech, and push-in you would hopefully get in your IEP, many/most DCPS schools have a very strong K curriculum that is really focused on teaching writing and reading fundamentals. They do a LOT of practice laying the groundwork to form letters, phonics, etc, for all kids. They have very clear goals for ELA. What this meant for my DS with severe fine motor skills (fine motor skills of a 14 month old baby at 4 years old, per the assessment - I didn't actually believe that, but it was bad!) is that in addition to the focused support, he got a TON of practice in methods that are designed to teach young kids from all backgrounds how to read and write. It really worked for him.

In contrast, from what I know about privates and some charters, K and 1st are much less focused and still revolved around being play based, etc, and they take more of the attitude of "oh, our kids will learn to read and write, we don't have to worry about it!" Which, fine, may work for some kids. But would not have worked for my kid, and likely not your kid either.

Another hint - we ended up getting a strong IEP for K from the DCPS Central private school section because we were entering our IB K from a private preschool. It seems much easier to deal with them then to have to go through the school. So you're in a good position to do that as well.

Our first IEP was 2.5 hours of push-in per week, plus 60 mins of OT per week. The special ed teacher often pushed in during writing instruction. What this amounted do was an average of 45 mins/day spent with 1:1 help on his writing. What was really great though was that the whole team also supported him developing his writing skills, so for example the art teacher would encourage him and not let him just do nothing, etc. DCPS also has an aid assigned to each K class, and the aid would give him some additional encouragement. (My DS's issue was that writing was hard, so he would just opt to do nothing unless someone encouraged him to get started.)

It's possible you could find the same level of support at a private, but I really think the combination of support PLUS curriculum was what got our DS off to a really great start. He has now aged out of his IEP (3rd grade) and we are letting it lapse for now.

The problem is this is in no way typical unless you have a child really in need. You really lucked up!

NP- it's not luck, it's based on evaluations done in school that are not available to private school students. The PP clearly described that their student qualified and then listed the services provided per the IEP, which is a process triggered by school administered test results. If your DC does not meet the evaluative criteria, then no services. It's that simple. No luck involved in public. Private on the other hand can do whatever they want.

I’ve heard more horror stories coming out of public schools with parents fighting to get their kids evaluated, fighting for services, etc. it shouldn’t be that way but sometimes it is, regardless of merit.

well none of those people would have been better off at the schools OP listed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s impossible to say without you describing her needs in more detail. I can’t tell if you’re just a hyper-protective mom for whom being clumsy is a “delay,” or if your child actually has delays. Speech, fine, and gross motor delays all together actually sounds like they could be fairly significant needs and you’d be better off in public with an IEP.

OP here:

Fair question. This is definitely not just me being a hyper-protective mom, though I'd say it's hard to assess long-term need because DD has made significant progress in the past couple years. She started therapy through DC"s early intervention program at age 1 after hypotonia diagnosis. She didn't walk until 22 months. Delayed expressive but not receptive language. Diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency at age 3. Through speech, OT, and PT, she has made great progress over past couple years, and the growth hormone injections have helped with her strength, too. She qualifies for an IEP through DCPS but we've sent her to a private pre-school that provides small classes and hands-on attention, which she's thrived in.

She is now 4, so we are looking at Kindergarten programs. I find it hard to judge the significance of her future needs because of her positive trajectory. I don't think this is just me looking through rose-colored glasses or wishing for an alternate reality but I don't want to be naive and suggest she definitely won't need any real supports, either.

Developmental pediatrician has suggested she could do ok in mainstream private school, with private therapy in place as needed.

Thanks for your input.

Thank you for the further information! Based on what you wrote, I really do think you should at least consider a DCPS with a strong IEP for K. Here's why: in addition to the OT, speech, and push-in you would hopefully get in your IEP, many/most DCPS schools have a very strong K curriculum that is really focused on teaching writing and reading fundamentals. They do a LOT of practice laying the groundwork to form letters, phonics, etc, for all kids. They have very clear goals for ELA. What this meant for my DS with severe fine motor skills (fine motor skills of a 14 month old baby at 4 years old, per the assessment - I didn't actually believe that, but it was bad!) is that in addition to the focused support, he got a TON of practice in methods that are designed to teach young kids from all backgrounds how to read and write. It really worked for him.

In contrast, from what I know about privates and some charters, K and 1st are much less focused and still revolved around being play based, etc, and they take more of the attitude of "oh, our kids will learn to read and write, we don't have to worry about it!" Which, fine, may work for some kids. But would not have worked for my kid, and likely not your kid either.

Another hint - we ended up getting a strong IEP for K from the DCPS Central private school section because we were entering our IB K from a private preschool. It seems much easier to deal with them then to have to go through the school. So you're in a good position to do that as well.

Our first IEP was 2.5 hours of push-in per week, plus 60 mins of OT per week. The special ed teacher often pushed in during writing instruction. What this amounted do was an average of 45 mins/day spent with 1:1 help on his writing. What was really great though was that the whole team also supported him developing his writing skills, so for example the art teacher would encourage him and not let him just do nothing, etc. DCPS also has an aid assigned to each K class, and the aid would give him some additional encouragement. (My DS's issue was that writing was hard, so he would just opt to do nothing unless someone encouraged him to get started.)

It's possible you could find the same level of support at a private, but I really think the combination of support PLUS curriculum was what got our DS off to a really great start. He has now aged out of his IEP (3rd grade) and we are letting it lapse for now.

The problem is this is in no way typical unless you have a child really in need. You really lucked up!

NP- it's not luck, it's based on evaluations done in school that are not available to private school students. The PP clearly described that their student qualified and then listed the services provided per the IEP, which is a process triggered by school administered test results. If your DC does not meet the evaluative criteria, then no services. It's that simple. No luck involved in public. Private on the other hand can do whatever they want.

I’ve heard more horror stories coming out of public schools with parents fighting to get their kids evaluated, fighting for services, etc. it shouldn’t be that way but sometimes it is, regardless of merit.

And why would it be any better in a "mainstream private" where they openly discriminate against kids with disabilities? Yes, you do have to be a strong advocate for your kid, but OP already knows that. That's why she's here asking these questions.

Because privates wouldn't exist without smearing public schools. It's tough to be a private when you are surrounded by successful public schools in a changing educational marketplace.

There is a huge difference between discrimination vs not a good fit. I am not a good long distance runner, and never will be, but not getting on the Varsity cross country team of my high school was not discrimination. I didn't belong there. They would have had to hire another coach to work just with me, and that's not how it works. In the situation of private vs public education, it's the same. A child who needs extra services should not attend a school that is geared for kids who don't need them. They are private, hence it is not a right that you attend and that they meet your needs. Public schools fill that need and do a much better job because their staff actually has training in special needs!

[Anonymous]

OP, the take home is you really need to engage with any particular school to inquire if they will be able assist you in supporting your child. But in your situation perhaps public with money spent on support services could be the best way to start, unless you have resources for both private school and outside services. They are many ways to go about it but it really depends on the needs of your child and the specific school.